Baghdad yesterday denounced what it called “blatant attacks” by Turkey following the bombing of Sulaimaniya Airport in Iraqi Kurdistan, which was attributed to Turkish forces opposing forces on Iraqi soil.
He urged Ankara to make an “official apology” and resolve “its internal problems by opening channels of dialogue with stakeholders.”
Airport security spoke briefly about an “explosion” against the surrounding wall, which caused a fire but did not result in any loss of life.
Rashid said: “While we condemn these egregious attacks, we confirm that there is no legal basis for Turkish forces to continue to terrorize safe civilians under the pretext of the presence of anti-Turkish forces on Iraqi soil.”
He called on the Turkish government to “take responsibility, issue a formal apology for these actions, stop these attacks and resolve their internal problems by opening channels of dialogue with stakeholders.”
The explosion near Sulaymaniyah Airport, the second city in Kurdistan (northern Iraq), came amid tensions as Turkey closed its airspace to aircraft departing from and bound for the airport in early April.
Ankara justified the measure by accusing Turkish-Kurdish PKK fighters of stepping up their activities in the area, and criticized the “penetration” of the “terrorist” organization at the airport.
Turkey considers the Syrian Democratic Forces, whose main component is the YPG, an extension of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
The coalition reacted late Friday to “news alleging” that SDF commander-in-chief Mazloum Abdi had been targeted in Sulaymaniyah, stressing that the reports were “not true”.
